Chaise-longue bed combination



April 8, 1952 E. E. WOLLER CHAISE-LONGUE BED COMBINATION 2 SI-lEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July 26, 1947 Patented Apr. 8, 1952 7 CHAISE-LONGUE BED COMBINATION Edward E. Woller, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to Simmons Company, New York,'N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 26, 1947,"Serial No. 763,869

1 Claim. 1

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved arrangement of spring-actuated arms for facilitating the shifting of the two sections of a lounge between their normal lounge positions and their extended coplanar bed positions; to provide improved spring-actuated arms of this kind which permit the seat section of said lounge in either of its positions to be elevated at the front thereof in order to afford access to the bedding-box base on which said sections are shiftably mounted; and to provide improved spring-actuated arms for lounge sections of this kind which require a minimum number and simple arrangement of parts.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a chaise longue equipped with spring-actuated arms constructed in accordance with this invention. Portions of the upholstery and its support are broken away in order to more clearly show parts of the springactuated arms;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, as viewed from the plane of the line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the chaise longue sections in their coplanar bed position. A small portion of one of the sides of the supporting base is broken away so as to more clearly indicate the parts of the spring-actuated arms; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view but showing the back section in its normal elevated position and with the seat section elevated at the forward end for the purpose of obtaining access to the bedding box.

A chaise longue embodying a spring-actuated arm mechanism constructed in accordance with this invention comprises a supporting frame 5 on which seat and back sections 6 and I are shiftably mounted by means of supporting elements 8, the shifting of which sections is facilitated by an improved spring-actuated adjusting arm mechanism 9.

The supporting frame 5 comprises a base l0 and a pair of ends II and I2. The base I!) is a boxlike structure supported on legs 13 and constitutes a compartment for bedding. As herein shown, this base I0 is comparatively narrow and extends forwardly of the ends I l and I2 a distance greater than the front-to-rear dimension of said ends II and I2. Along the inner face of the lateral sides of the base 10, adjacent the top edges thereof, are secured angle bars [4 which provide support for the seat and back section supporting elements 8 as will appear more clearly hereinafter.

The ends I l and 12 may be of any suitable construction, and are of the normal height, with a front-to-back dimension characteristic of furniture of this kind.

' The seat and back sections 6 and 1 also are of a more or less conventional construction. The seat section comprises a frame l5 whereon is mounted suitable spring-supported upholstery [6. Similarly, the back section 1 comprises a supporting frame l! whereon is mounted suitable spring-supported upholstery I8. Being a chaise longue, the seat section 6 is of a length slightly less than the over-all'length of the base l0 over which it is superimposed. In this structure the seat section serves as a closure for the bedding compartment in the base [0. The back section I is of a height considerably less than the front-toback dimension of the ends H and I2.

The supporting elements 8, for the seat and back sections 6 and I, comprise a pair of upright standards I9 and pairs of brackets 20 and 2|. Each of the standards [9 is integral with a plate 22 of angle construction which rests upon an angle bar M on the base 10. A pair of pins 23 engage the under side of the horizontal flange of the bar l4 so that the standard I!) is not displaceable but may be shifted along the bar M to permit the appropriate movements of the seat and back sections 6 and l to alter their relationship from that of a lounge to that of a bed, and

vice versa.

I what in the nature of a boomerang. The pair 20 are secured adjacent the rear ends of the lateral sides of the seat-section supporting frame Hi. The pair 2! are rigidly secured adjacent the lower corners of the sides of the back-section supporting frame ll. At their upper adjacent ends the pairs of brackets 26 and 2! are pivoted at is and 25 respectively to the upper ends of the standards l9. The mounting of the brackets 20 and 21 on the respective seat and back sections 6 and I and the location of the pivots 24 and 25 are such that the lower forward edge of the upholstery l8 and the rear upper edge of the upholstery l6 closely abut. Therefore, there is practically no gap in the continuity of the upholstery of these two sections when in their coplanar positions, as rather clearly indicated at 26 in Fig. 3.

The spring-actuated arm mechanism 9 whereby the shifting of the seat and back sections 6 and I is facilitated, comprises a pair of back-section arms 27 and a pair of seat-section arms 28 between which is connected a tension spring 29.

The arms 21 are anchored to a shaft or rod 30 pivoted at its ends on the base In near the upper rear edges of the sides thereof. The upper ends of the arms 21 are pivoted at 3] to the sides of the back-section supporting frame i1, preferably to the brackets 2|. Intermediate the points of attachment of the arms 27 to the shaft 30 a short arm 32 is connected. This arm 32 with the shaft 30 and the arms 21 constitute, in effect,

a bell crank.

The arms 28 at their lower ends are-pivotally mounted on trunnion plates 33.

near the bottom of the base and at points inwardly from the front face of the frame ends II and [2, so that the upper free ends of' the arms 28, when the arms are in their depressed positions, are rearwardly of the front face of the frame ends II and 12. At their, upper. ends the arms 28 are provided with rollers 34 which engage tracks 35 formed on the under sides of the seat-section frame 15.

An equalizer rod 36- extends betweenthearms 28 near their upper ends andisrigidly connected thereto in order to maintain the arms 28 in alignment and. to assure their movement in unison.

The spring 29 is connected to the lower end of the short arm 32. and to the rod 36 intermediate the arms .28. This spring serves the dual purpose of applying pull to both pairs. of arms 27 and 28. The spring 29. acting on the arms 2! normally tends to swing. them rearwardly and into their upright positions. Similarly, the spring 29' tends to swing the arms 28 upwardly and'rearwardly. It will be apparent from Figure 4 of the drawings that the spring 29 remains, disposed closely beneath the seat section 6 throughout-the swinging movement of the seat sectionabout the-hinge axis 24, and that the connection of the spring to the equalizer rod 36 constitutes the arms 28 as levers of the third order for urging the seat section upwardly. With this arrangement, substantially the entire-volume of the bedding-compartment is available as useable storage space,

there being no substantial interference by the spring 2-9.

The tension on the spring 291 is very reatly increased when the seat and back sections: 6 and l. are shifted from their lounge positions-to their coplanar bed positions for the reason: that, as shown in Fig. 3, the arms 21' move forwardly about the; pivot ofthe shaft. 30. Hence, when it. isdesired to. shift the sections so as to elevate. the back section I the spring facilitatesthe return of the back section to its normal upright position.

When it is desired to have access to the bedding compartment base It] the spring 19 facilitates the raising of the forward endof the seat sec.- tion 6, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4. Such an elevating of the. seat section 6 may be effected when the sections are. in their lounge positions,

Theseplates. are secured to the inner sides of thebase. I0.

as shown in Fig. 4, or when in their extended bed positions, as shown in Fig. 3.

Rollers 31 on the underside of the seat section frame l5 rest on the angle bars 14 to facilitate movement of the seat section horizontally between its extreme positions. A stop 38 on the sides of the seat-section frame [5 engage the rollers 34 .on.the arms 28 and limit the upward swing of the seat sectionfi.

Variations and modifications in the details of structure and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to within the spirit and coverage of the appended claim.

I claim;

A convertible lounge comprising a supporting frame providinga bedding box, a pair of standards, reciprocably mounted on said frame for forward and rearward movement thereon, a seat section and a normally upright back section hinged to said standards, said seat section overlying. said box, in movable contact with said frame, said sections being adjustable from their normal seat andback positionsto co-planar positions on said frame to form. a bed, said seat section in either position beingswingable upwardly at its front, end to afford access to said. box, a bell crank lever pivoted on said frame at the rear thereof below said, back section, one arm of said crankv extending upwardly and being pivotally connected to said back section at a point intermediate its height, the other arm of said crank extending downwardly from the crank pivot, a pair ofaligned upwardlyand forwardly-extending arms pivoted at their lower ends respectively to opposite sides of said frame forwardly of said bell crank, an equalizer rod extendingbetween and rigidly connected to said arms adjacent their upper ends-for maintainingthe, alignment of said arms, said last-mentioned arms being engageable at their. upper ends with the underside ofsaid seat section, and a tension spring connecting said downwardly extending arm of said bell crank and said equalizer rod, said spring constituting said seat-section engaging arms as third class levers forurgingthe front end cfsaidseat. section upwardly and also tending. to swing said upwardly-extending arm of said bell crank rearwardly. for counterbalancing the weight of said back; sectionto facilitate adjustment of said sections.

EDWARD E WOLLER.

REEERENCES CITED.

The following references are of record-in the file of this patent:

UNITED" STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,793,770 Barnes Feb. 24, 1931 2,297,526 Bayeret all Sept. 29, 1942 2,314,864 Bergstrom Mar. 30, 1943 2,334,493 Johnson Nov. 16, 1943 

